I am not a parent either, but I cook regularly at home. My Dad has recently started detesting spaghetti, it's just one of those meals that's easy and affordable, but often the processed spaghetti sauce is incredibly fatty. So I started making my own

Ingredients:
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 small tub of tomato paste
1 white onion
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
Chevapchichi (non-spicy) - I don't know if you have these in the US or the UK.

Steps:

1. Cut and roll the Chevapchichi into balls.
2. Add some vegetable oil to a pan and add the Chevapchichi balls, the crushed tomatoes and the tomato paste.
3. Continue to simmer.
4. Cut up one white onion and add that to the pan.
5. Followed by one carrot.
6. Begin boiling your pasta on the stove.
7. Add garlic to pasta sauce.
8. Take the pasta of heat and remove the excess liquid.
9. Combine the pasta sauce and the pasta.
10. Add a dash of salt and pepper - and enjoy!

The upside is spaghetti is one of those meals you can add anything to and kids can't often see it. But this version tastes so much fresher then the store bought one. Plus kids love meatballs and these are quick and easy!

I can add my cheesecake ice-cream cake or cream of tomato soup recipes if anyone is interested?

My kids haven't been picky so they have typically just eaten whatever me and my husband are eating. My kids are all under 5 so my experience is limited, but they seem to particularly enjoy anything that includes a sensory experience. They love long noodles, assembling pizzas, and anything that involves dipping and dunking.

Some of our kids' favorite meals are:

Taco Soup (Allrecipes.com "Slow Cooker Taco Soup" is a easy, standard form but is easy to adjust).

Chickpea Curry - Costco sells little pouches that you just drop in boiling water for 5 min. I keep these on hand for when I make Indian food that is too spicy for my kids to eat.

For lunch I keep things really, really simple. A dietitian friend of mine swears that kids behave better if they have eaten a fruit and a protein (she despises the goldfish/pretzel/graham cracker diet) so that is what I almost always do for lunch.

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients; blend well. Form into finger shaped sausages about 3/4" thick and 4" long.
Cook slowly until well browned on a charcoal grill.
Turn sausages often.
Sausages should be brown on the outside. According to tradition, these sausages are served on a bed of chopped onions, with tiny hot pebbers, mixed vegetabl